Isk, bebudak ni...

Looking back at all the pictures, there was a group of photos that I would like to share with you. Pity the animals because the kids played with them, cruelly I might add...isk, isk...sigh.

With the deers...

A monkey...

Sian monkey tuu...

Pony...

The kids...

But I might add that actually they were just playing with the animals. They didn't give the orange for real...sigh.

Egypt : Visit to a mini zoo...

The entrance...

On our way to Alexandria, we stopped at a mini zoo. Actually it was an open zoo, where most of the animals roamed free... well, they did have cages but some could actually just jumped out of their cages...hehehe. Except for the big lion, thank goodness! Hehehe...

We wanted to bring the kids there because we wanted them to have fun too. Hadi was so excited at the prospect of playing with the animals. The others were just too glad to get out of the van and had a walkabout...hehehe...

Actually it's not exactly a zoo. At the entrance we could see a restaurant and the animals were caged in the surrounding area. It was some sort like an entertainment park where people could bring their kids to see the animals, play games and eat. They served authentic egyptian food as well because the workers/cook came from the surrounding villages. They made one heck of a delicious roti!

The animals were quite varied, from small animals like terrapins, rabbits to crocodile and lions. There was no entrance fee and we were free to roam around the area. It was a bit smelly but that comes naturally with the territory...hehehe. Anyway, I think the kids enjoyed the break from historical visits tremendously.

A picture at the entrance...

They were looking at the lions...

The deers...

They were very friendly...the humans and the animals...hehehe

Camel...

Emu kot?!!

The baboon...

Hadi...fascinated...

Egypt : Orange oh orange...

On 29th of December, we started our journey towards Alexandria. We opted to stay the night because people said that Alexandria's a beautiful city. In Egpyt, toll booths are quite rare and far in between. Ahemm...not like Malaysia where you can find one at every few kilometres...hehehe. And they're cheap too! So, I managed to snap the picture of one of the toll booth.

A few hundred kms only costs less than rm10?!!

Right after the toll booth going out of Cairo, I could see a lot of fruit orchards, especially oranges. I felt like being in a mediterranean country. We asked the driver to stop at one fruit seller and I was amazed at how cheap the oranges were...hehehe. The lady gave us some oranges to taste and they were so sweet! So, I bought a whole crate!

While waiting for the others I took the opportunity to take some pictures at the orange orchard. Suddenly, Amir came and plucked one out of the trees...sigh. I was so scared because it was stealing, I told the lady about it...isk, isk...Amir...

We bought so many oranges that the van was full of them...hehehe. Some we put under the seats and throughout the journey we would suddenly squashed an orange or two. The worst thing was the fact that the oranges we bought were not sweet, they were very sour! We were duped by the fruit seller...hehehe. Padan muka!

We ended up giving most of the oranges to the students when we went back to Cairo...hehehe.

See, how fresh they were?!!

The girls...

Amir running away with an orange!

One crate ok, talk about being greedy!

She's begging Amir for an orange...hehehe

With his loot!

Ada aje these two...

Oranges, anyone?

My kids having fun!

My 3 kids...

When we came back from Faiyoum, we had separate agendas. Kak Faridah wanted to go shopping while we went to Carrefour to meet my husband's friend. The kids wanted to eat at Chili's...sigh. So, after dinner, we left my husband with his friend and the kids played infront of Carrefour.

There was a projected image on the floor. For e.g, images of ants that you had to step on etc. We spent about half an hour there while I drooled at the crystal display of the Asfour counter...hehehe. They really enjoyed themselves...hehehe

Butterflies that turned into flowers...

Having fun...

Squashing ants...

Not enough with feet...sigh.

Egypt : Nabi Yusof's watermills...

The only working watermill...

After eating, we went to see the remaining watermills of Nabi Yusof. Surprisingly it was in the middle of the town, I would have thought it was somewhere in a farm or something. There were four side by side, but only one was working. Unfortunately, when we were there, there was low tide so it was idle.

The sad thing was the fact that the other three watermills were full of rubbish, plastics especially. I was really disappointed because I felt that as part of history, they should have been better preserved. We're not talking about museum pieces here, they were still in good working order if fixed...sigh. But well, who am I to raise this matter. I was just a tourist.

But truly, it was a disappointing experience. I remembered thinking, 'is that it?!!'. But thinking back, Allah Maha Kuasa. During Nabi Yusof's time, Allah made the watermills worked perfectly without any motorised gadget and now He has taken the pleasure from us... wallahualam.

Taking pictures...

Hadi was the one interested in the watermill...

My kids...

Four watermills from Nabi Yusof's Era...

Sad, sad, sad...

The one still working...

Actually I was more interested in the 'stuff' sold across the road. Kak Faridah and I dragged Hairul over to the other side and started bargaining. The vendors were selling many rustic pieces, things made from hay and clay. I was thinking of my baggage space and refrained from buying any even though I was offered a bargain price. I could just imagine my husband rolling his eyes...muahahaha. Well, in this case, I agree that those pieces would be a champion dust gatherer! Hehehe...

Macam-macam ada...

'Stuff'...

Things made from clay...

Some are quite well-made...

Hairul bargaining...

Egypt : Faiyoum...

Faiyoum. A place of contrasts. A fertile land in the middle of the desert. Lakes, orchards in the middle of barren land. I find it very interesting. Throughout the journey around Faiyoum, I was captivated by the scenery.

We were told that Faiyoum became fertile during Nabi Yusof Era. He was challenged by the Pharoah to make the desert land fertile for agriculture. He did that within a few years (with Allah's help of course) and impressed the pharoah greatly. He was known to built watermills to help irrigate the desert until it became fertile enough to be used as agricultural land until today.

Around Faiyoum, I saw many fruit orchards, farms etc. I saw cabbages, grape vines (not in season), dates and the most prominent was the olives trees. Enjoy the pictures!

Grape vines...

Vegetables...

Wheat probably...

Dates...

Olives...

Olives...

Hmm... I've forgotten the name...hehehe

Egypt : A bad experience in Faiyoum...

The police who 'escorted' us...

We were escorted by a police jeep when we were driving around Faiyoum. They made our journey very slow because we had to follow their speed. At the Aineel Shaeer's springs, I bought them packets of peanuts and when we finally stopped for lunch in Faiyoum town (it was after 3 pm actually), Kak Faridah decided to buy them burgers etc.

But did they appreciate it? Nope! Instead they asked for money from us! Imagine, they even gave back all the food in exchange for money! At first we were a bit reluctant to give them but since that would make sure they stopped following us, we gave them the money. If I'm not mistaken it was LE10 for one soldier. In fact, it was cheaper than buying them food...sigh.

The experience definitely left something bitter about Egypt. Probably, we should have anticipated paying some sort of 'duit kopi' but we seriously thought that they were just doing their job...sigh. Anyway, after that our journey was smooth and uneventful.

The kids in the restaurant...

We were waiting for our food...